TR Out Loud in 2010: Seeking feedback from the TR Community

One of the metrics of success for the TR Out Loud blog is community participation. So, a big question going forward in 2010 is: What can we do that will generate more community activity on the site -- and what should we discontinue?

TechRepublic is one of the best web sites for IT professionals — and no doubt THE best site for tech community. The TR Out Loud blog was created specifically for you all, the TR community, so that members could learn more about one another (TR Member Spotlight series) and keep up with the hot discussions and topics on a weekly basis (TROLOV — or TR Out Loud on Video).

Each Monday, the TR Out Loud blog features a Questions of the Week post (thanks to Hal 9000 and Jacky Howe for their weekly submissions) to highlight some of the great questions that are getting asked in TechRepublic's Questions forum.

One of the metrics of success for the TR Out Loud blog is participation. So, a big question going forward in 2010 is: What can we do in the TR Out Loud blog that will generate more community activity on the site?

Following this logic, we want to keep doing the things that currently create quite a bit of discussion and engage the TR community, such as the guest post. In fact, we'd like more TR members to send in contributions — sharing their expertise and/or frustrations — to trol@techrepublic.com.

Similarly, we may discontinue things that don't move the needle on community activity, such as TROLOV. While the weekly video series has a passionate core following, it has not successfully engaged a larger segment of the TR community or created much activity on the site. We still believe that some of the elements of TROLOV are important to share, but perhaps not OV (on Video).

So, let's open this for discussion. Yes, TROLOV is on the chopping block, but we would like feedback from you all before we make any final decisions. Since the TR Out Loud blog is your playground or sandbox of sorts, please take a few moments to answer the following questions:

What could we add or subtract from TROLOV to create more community participation?

If we take out the video element, what parts of TROLOV would you like to see as a weekly blog post in the TR Out Loud blog?

What other types of posts would you like to see in the TR Out Loud blog that you think would generate more community activity?

If you regularly watch TROLOV but haven't participated, now is the time to speak up. Every voice matters!